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Book Review: Molly Withers and the Golden Tree by Kent Allan Rees

From the back of the book
Molly and Charlie live very ordinary lives. But everything changes when they meet a talking moose, catch a Pinkleton Dimple fairy, escape from Craggly’s haunted cemetery and embark on an incredible journey to find the enchanted Golden Tree!

Molly and Charlie face countless dangers along the way, but that’s not all – they have discovered a great Secret! In the end, Molly must solve an ancient riddle or the Golden Tree and its Magic will be lost forever!

My review
Molly is an eleven-year-old with nothing more serious on her mind than gathering cabbage grass for her family, finding time to sneak away and read, and ignoring the annoying Charlie Gregg who seems to always appear when he’s least expected. Everything changes when the town’s former teacher takes Molly under her wing. The same teacher who disappeared for years after retiring from her post. Imagine Molly’s surprise when Gabrielle informs her that she is “The Chosen One”. All she has to do is find the mythical tree and save the world. No problem, right? In a short time, Charlie is appointed as Molly’s protector, and together they face a snarky leprechaun, a rhyming ghost, and talking animals.

I liked the optimism and hope in this book. From time to time, one of the characters will experience a moment of despair, such as Molly’s worry over her family’s poverty, or Charlie’s sadness that his parents don’t care more about him. Someone soon comes along and reminds them that we attract what we focus on, and things usually are not as bad as they seem.

There are a few things that made me wonder if the book might be a little scary for 8-9 year olds. A malevolent ghost and bad guys who look as nasty on the outside as they act may be a little too much for some readers. (And let me just say this book reinforces my belief that clowns should be eradicated from the face of the earth.) But then I remembered the kind of stuff I was reading at that age, and I reconsidered. It’s something to keep in mind if your child is sensitive to things like that. You can even read it before your child does. Molly Withers and the Golden Tree is written for 8-12 year-olds, but I think adult fans of the fantasy genre will like it as well.

About the book
Title: Molly Withers and the Golden Tree
Author: Kent Allan Rees
Publisher: Magic Hat Press
Release date: August 1, 2009
Pages: 247
Where I got the book: Free from the author in exchange for an honest review.